


Cinnamon

by zurpocalypse



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: But mostly fluff, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Remember To Feed Your Symbiote, implied - Freeform, some language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 02:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16484246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zurpocalypse/pseuds/zurpocalypse
Summary: Everyone remembers their first successful pancake flip. Right?Two losers in SF try to figure it out the technique before they end up either killing each other or crying on the floor. Either way, they'll die trying... Probably...





	Cinnamon

**Author's Note:**

> Symbrock has completely consumed me. I'm really digging the whole happy host is a happy life kind of deal. Since Halloween is over, I might do a Christmas story in the future. Idk something cool tho.

**_Eddie... Eddie..._ **

Eddie faced the bustling city of San Francisco with his back against the dark clouds. He stared as ant sized cars drove through tiny streets colored by neon lights. Suddenly, the skyscrapers stretched higher and higher passed the point where they towered over the man. Eddie felt his body falling through the rushing city wind. Lights smeared on the corner of his eye as the ground grew more visible. A gaping hole opened below him with sharp teeth sticking from the sides. He fell closer and closer into the hole.

**Eddie! Wake up!**

He jerked up from his bed and sat up to quickly scan the room. "Huh? Wha- What is it?" He asked, still in a daze. "Did the cat steal our leftovers again?"

**No. Not today. It's Sunday.**

"It is?" He said as he wiped cold sweat from his forehead. He looked out toward the window and saw that it was still dark through the dusty blinds. He forgot to shut it last night, which explained the chill he felt against his bare chest. He rolled to his side and read the clock:

_3:16 AM_

Eddie dropped the side of his head onto the pillow and sighed, "Jesus, V. It's waaay too early for you to be waking me up at his hour."

**But Eddie, we're hungry.**

"We just had some cheese sticks a few hours ago."

**But we're hungry now.**

"Can't this wait until morning?" He groaned as he wrapped the pillow behind his head.

**It is morning, Eddie.**

"You know what I mean."

**Remember last weekend Eddie? You promised that we would make something special together first thing Sunday morning. I was kind enough to let you sleep an extra three hours.**

"It would be even kinder if you let me sleep another five."

**C'mon Eddie. I'll make your coffee if you get up.**

Eddie didn't respond. He felt Venom slither around his neck and scratch his head under his chin. It felt good under his stubble.

**Human's don't live very long lives as it is, you're literally killing us the more you stall.**

Eddie found no way around the subject. He moved the pillow from his face and groaned, "Fine, I'm up-I'm up."

The cold floor sent a chill down his spine, enough to wake him up a bit. He grabbed the grey sweats and a Batman shirt from the ground and put them on as he went toward the kitchen. Eddie grabbed a pan, a large bowl and a whisk from the cabinet while Venom set the coffee maker. Venom grabbed a spoon with his mouth and put two heaps of brown sugar in Eddie's cup.

Moving from job to job proved to be more challenging than Eddie thought. Though his show was still somewhat successful, it wasn't enough to cover rent and the abysmal appetite of an alien. He found a job listing for a bartender in the financial district but assumed it would end in termination like the others. Sleeping was more of a pastime than a necessity for Eddie. There were plenty of times he fell asleep on BART and woke up at the wrong station.

Without his guest's knowledge, Eddie spent the last of his savings on flour, eggs and milk.

He pulled out a teal colored book from the drawer and skimmed through the pages. The cover was torn, and spine looked like it would fall apart at any moment. Of course, Venom was the one to point the obvious.

**Looks ancient.**

"It was my grandma's cook book."

**Humans record their meals? How bizarre.**

"Well, think about it. Without books like this, we wouldn't be able to remember all the tasty meals to pass down."

**... You have a point there.**

Eddie found the page and leaned the book onto the tile wall. One the amber page was an illustration of a stack of shortcakes with berries around the base and cream on top.

**P...Pa... Pan...**

"You got it, buddy."

**Pan... Cakies?**

"Close, it's pancakes," he corrected. "This was my favorite thing to eat when I was a kid. Every Sunday after church, my mom would make me this with my grandma. I remember eating so much that I would fall asleep on the table because I was so full."

Eddie also remembered how he would magically wake up tucked in bed with his favorite teddy bear beside him.

**Is it human custom to eat that on Sunday mornings?**

"I imagine for most families it's true, but not everyone does it."

**I remember last Sunday you had half a can of Red Bull and a slice of week-old pizza.**

"That was an exception."

**We starved that whole afternoon.**

"And I have an empty wallet now because you tried to eat that old man's dog."

**What can I say? It looked tasty.**

_Beep Beep Beep_

Venom used one of his vines to remove the pot from the machine and poured the piping hot coffee into the cup. He stirred in a generous amount of cream and handed the cup to Eddie. Eddie forgot about the whole conversation once he took a sip of his drink.

"Thanks."

**Your welcome.**

Venom hovered over his shoulder as he watched the human measure the flour and baking powder. Eddie added milk and whisked the batter until it was thick. He reached inside the spice cabinet and fumbled around in it for a bit.

Eddie asked, "You think you can keep a secret?"

**Which one?**

"What do you mean which one?" He asked, defensively as he reached deeper in the cabinet.

**The one where you cried when Anne found your old Myspace pictures or when your pants got caught in the-**

"Not those secrets!" He yelled. Eddie should have rephrased his question. He should have known there wasn't going to be secrecy between him and Venom. He found what he was looking for and handed the bottle to Venom. "It's a top-secret ingredient," he whispered.

**What is this? Powder?**

Eddie pointed at the label and revealed, "It's cinnamon. This bad boy will make anything taste a thousand times better. No one, not even Anne knew about this."

Venom examined the bottle and the letters. He tightened his grip on the bottle.

**If anyone finds out our secret, I'll eat them.**

Not the most humane way to deal with the situation, but Eddie knew his grandmother would've wanted it this way.

**How much should I put?**

"Just a sprinkle of cinnamon should be fine. You don't want to put too much, or it'll taste- WAIT THAT'S TOO MUCH!" He yelled.

A cloud of cinnamon filled the air. Eddie neglected to close the lid all the way the other day. The batter had the look of sand.

**It looks fine to me.**

Eddie used a spoon to scoop the mountainous spice from the batter. "Anything looks fine to you," he joked. He managed to get a good amount out, but the smell masked the entire kitchen.

**It smells delicious.**

"Get used to it. Looks like this is what we're going to be eating until my next check."

**I don't mind.**

Eddie grabbed a stick of butter from the fridge and slathered it over the hot pan. He scooped the batter and poured it onto the pan. The top of the cake started to bubble. Eddie grabbed the handle with both hands and slid the cake around the pan.

"V, watch this," he said. Eddie spun the cake around the pan as an extra measure and flicked his wrist upwards. The cake flipped right below his chin and landed perfectly into the pan. "Tada! Cool, right?" He beamed.

**How did you do that?!**

"It's just a little Brock magic."

**Can I try?!**

Eddie could hear the excitement in Venom's voice. He placed the golden-brown cake on a plate and prepared another for the symbiote. Black vines wrapped around his arm and formed into two large hands. Black fingers slid between Eddies as they held a firm grasp on the pan. They waited in anticipation for the batter to bubble.

"Just dip the pan a little and flick your wrists up. It's pretty simple."

Eddie felt Venom tilt the pan. He felt all too eager to show in off in front of his host. They flicked their wrists quickly and-

_Splat!_

They looked down at the pan, but the cake had disappeared.

There was only place the pancake would have gone.

Eddie looked up.

"It's stuck."

**It's pretty stuck.**

"Let's try again," he said as he coated the pan in butter. He grabbed a ladle full of batter and made another cake. He could worry about the mess later.

They gently slid the pancake around the pan again and tilted the pan.

"Just relax, V. Let your wrist do the work."

They dipped the pan and threw the cake in the air.

The pancake flew faster than before with even greater force. Eddie thought that is had left a crater in the ceiling.

**You're doing this on purpose!**

"How?! I'm not even doing anything!"

He heard the symbiote mutter something to himself, but Eddie decided to ignore his remark and buttered the pan again.

_Several failed pancake flips later..._

Eddie couldn't tell if it was his melting exhaustion, his own frustration, or Venom's, or a mix of all three boiling under his skin. He tried not to think about spending the afternoon scraping the cakes off from the ceiling.

"Okay," he sighed as he rubbed a temple. "Just forget everything I said and don't even think about it. Just trust yourself."

**How are we supposed to clear our mind and focus at the same time?!**

"I don't know! Just let it happen!"

**AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!**

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!"

_Splat!_

If it wasn't going to be the overdue rent getting him evicted, it would probably be the noise complaint. Eddie couldn't understand if it was Venom's crazy strength or just their lack of restraint. Maybe Venom was just trying to show off in his own weird way. Eddie didn't even want to see how the ceiling looked.

**One more time! We'll get it right with this one!**

"No, V. We're running pretty low on batter as it is."

**But we're so close. We can feel it.**

Eddie looked over at the near empty bowl. Black hands tightened over his, ready to try again. Instead, Eddie put his hands over Venom's. He could feel the metal breaking tension in Venom's grip. Eddie rubbed a thumb over Venom' s to calm him down. He felt the symbiote's hand relax against his, almost like they're melting into his skin.

"We can do it."

The room was completely silent.

_Flip!_

_Plop!_

Eddie opened his eyes and saw the golden cake frying on the pan. Excitement and relief tingled across his body.

"We did it!"

**We did it!**

Their excitement was disturbed by hard knocks from the floor and an abrupt, "Quiet up there!"

They apologized and cheered among themselves. Eddie set the cake aside and prepared another. He commented, "You were just nervous."

**I wasn't nervous!**

"Sure," he said as he poured another cake onto the pan. "Keep at it and you'll win first place at the National Pancake Flipping Tournament."

**Such a thing exists?**

"I wish it did."

**We should make it. That way, we'll always win. Losers get eaten, of course.**

"Very funny, V. You can finish the rest of the batter while I cut the fruit."

**I would prefer if we made the rest together.**

They were able to make a few more cakes to make a considerable stack. Eddie used the spatula to move the pancakes onto their own plates. Eddie took three while he handed Venom a stack that would rival the leaning tower. Eddie grabbed a can of whipped cream from the fridge and handed it to the symbiote.

"Will you do the honors?" He asked.

**It would be my pleasure.**

Venom made a perfect swirl of cream on both of their stacks. Eddie lined the pancakes with an assortment of berries. They took a step back to marvel at their creation.

**It's even more beautiful than I could've imagined.**

Eddie couldn't help but smile at Venom's remark. Through trial and error, many errors, they were able to make something good together. Even at an ungodly hour in a shitty apartment in the Tenderloin district.

Eddie brought the plates to the table next to each other. He took a seat with his coffee in hand as Venom took a bite of his food with a knife and fork.

If it were the Venom he had just met, those pancakes would have been long gone. Eddie was proud that the once savage carnivore was willing to learn human mannerisms in table etiquette. Eddie watched as Venom stuffed his small mouth with large bites of pancakes. His cheeks were so full. It was cute.

**You're not going to eat?**

Venom's mouth was mostly full when he asked that question. Eddie replied, "I'm not that hungry." He took a sip of his coffee.

**You should eat. It's good.**

"Hmmm."

Eddie put a palm to his cheek as he watched Venom eating his cakes. He seemed so care free and happy with almost anything, other than when they run out of pizza bagels. Eddie could say was envious of the alien. He felt his eyes slowly close as he stared down into his coffee.

**Why are you feeling sad, Eddie?**

Eddie's eyes opened wide when he heard the question. "Wha-What do you mean?" He stuttered.

**You've had a lot on your mind even before you fell asleep.**

Eddie found no way around it. There were no secrets between him and Venom. That was apparent.

Eddie took a swig of his coffee and sighed, "I don't know, V. I'm just really tired, that's all."

**Hmm.**

There was a drained silence among the two. Eddie could feel that Venom knew exactly what was on his mind. He probably knew how exhausted he was trying to write that article that only got 14 views or how frustrated he got when their neighbors fucking cat stole their food.

Eddie didn’t want to push this extra baggage onto his guest. He felt that Venom had a hard-enough time trying to keep him alive with some of the situations he puts them through. It had been a few months since the Life Foundation incident and they’ve been trying to lay low since. Eddie hasn’t spoken to Anne for months. He missed her. He even missed Dan a little. Just a little.

For living in such a large city, life seemed so confined.

He found himself playfully poking at a strawberry with his fork. "I must look like a fucking loser right now, huh?" He blurted.

**More than usual.**

"Thanks," he said sarcastically.

**But who am I to say? I've never had to worry about earning money for shelter and food. I can eat anything, and I'm grateful to have found such a perfect host.**

Eddie could get a sense of where Venom was going with this. The symbiote set his utensils aside and slithered across Eddie's arm. He rubbed his head against the stubble on the human's chin. Venom liked the way it scratched his head, and he knew that Eddie liked it too.

**Even when everything goes to shit, you manage to shake it off and move on. I've always admired that about you.**

Eddie was taken back by the alien’s words. For someone that isn’t afraid to cuss him out for forgetting to buy barbecue chips, Venom’s words were able to come across so gentle and hopeful. It’s not the first time he’s expressed such kind words, but it was still bizarre to see from an alien head. Eddie scratched Venom’s chin with a finger and smiled. "Thanks, V,” he said. “That really means a lot to me."

**You really should eat, Eddie.**

Venom slithered down Eddie’s arm and continued to eat his food. Eddie dug into his food too. The journalist was hungrier than he thought. He felt warm droplets roll down his cheeks as he ate large chunks of the food. Venom was right, it was good. Really good.

The room was relatively silent other than a few sniffles. Eddie stuffed his face with more food until his plate was licked clean. Venom handed him a napkin to wipe his eyes and nose with.

**Do you think I should look for a job too?**

"What? No,” Eddie said as he gathered their empty plates. He set them in the sink and headed toward his room. “Even if you did find a job, what did you have in mind?"

**I can be a puppet on one of those kid's shows.**

Eddie didn't even want to imagine how much of a disaster that would be. The collateral damage would be even worse than the Blues Brothers.

He dropped his body onto his bed. He didn’t even bother to slip out of his sweatpants. He turned to lay on his back and stared at the ceiling, with Venom resting on his chest.

**You’ll see. I'll be even more popular than that red bastard.**

Eddie couldn't help but laugh at Venom's remark. The image of the symbiote on his knee all cute for the kids made him curl into himself. His stomach was in pain by the time he was able to catch his breath.

**I don't think I've ever heard you laugh like that.**

"Yeah," he said as he wiped a tear from his eye. "It's been a while, but don't worry about it, V. I've got us."

**We've got each other.**

"Yeah, we do," he smiled.

They would usually end the day by saying goodnight to each other, but exhaustion got the best of the journalist. Eddie’s eyelids grew too heavy to hold up any longer. but the journalist was so exhausted, he dozed off into deep, dreamless slumber.

Eddie woke up that morning tucked under the covers.

Venom was asleep, nuzzled under his chin.

He was warm.


End file.
